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BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

theguardian.com

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Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#101

Post by Nextgrid »

lozenge wrote: post #98
Nextgrid wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Freeview just a marketing name for DVB-T (or T2 nowadays), which supported encrypted content since its inception and can mix encrypted & non-encrypted channels in the same multiplex?

This is correct but not every TV will have the slot for a decryption card. The UK has good broadband but far from the level of a universal public service. (That would be communism apparently)

That's a chicken & egg problem though. In fact CI slots used to be more popular but declined as the system was pretty much never used (pay-TV is typically only used for high-end services which then provided their own set-top-box offering extra features such as recording or catch-up TV services over the internet). The problem can also be trivially solved by cheap set-top-boxes (during the migration to digital TV, DVB-T tuner set-top-boxes were already inexpensive and technology has advanced even more since then) for the immediate future to avoid forcing people to upgrade their entire TV sets.

Key distribution is already a solved problem as well, the UK has a large userbase of smartcard-based prepayment systems such as for electric/gas meters or transport cards (Oyster card) and every tobacco/liquor store has a terminal that can sell or reload these cards. Expanding this system to reload TV cards is just a software update.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#102

Post by Nextgrid »

dazc wrote: post #96
Nextgrid wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would love for someone to come and visit. I'd take great pleasure in wasting as much of their time as possible and make them believe I'm about to sign up for a license via them (they get commission) just to get these assholes' hopes up. Unfortunately Capita (the company license management is subcontracted to) must really be unlucky with the "investigators" they employ because according to their letters over a dozen…

'Wasting much of their time' though would likely result is someone justifying his/her job by going along with it. Much the same with HMRC (UK tax authority) there is no matter too trivial that they are not willing to spend limitless amounts of time and energy investigating - purely because they can.

I believe the goons are underpaid and make the bulk of their money through commissions (which also encourages their shitty - and potentially fraudulent & unlawful behavior), thus wasting a lot of their time without taking out a license in the end will make a loss for them.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#103

Post by jaymzcampbell »

Nextgrid wrote: post #84
jaymzcampbell wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know there's lots of conflicting horror stories online but years ago when I moved house and had no TV at all, I submitted a declaration[1] saying I didn't need one and haven't had any hassle since. After a few months I realised I wasn't missing live TV at all and never went back. [1] https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/t...

The declaration only lasts for a year or so, not to mention that out of principle there is no reason for us to help them save money on not sending their letters/goons especially considering they started the whole thing to begin with. Let them reap what they sowed.

Hello you - sorry I missed your SMS before xmas :') - They've left me alone since 2018, I think I had one follow up declaration and then that was it. Agree regarding we shouldn't have to on principle but I just went along with it for the sake of drawing a line under it.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#104

Post by tannhaeuser »

cracrecry wrote: post #28

One of the great things of the Licence fee was that the Government does not get to control the national TV like it does when the one who pays is it directly. In places like Spain the national TV(and regional TV too) becomes a propaganda machine for the exclusive service of the Government(s, national and regional). It is awful to have your taxes redirected for the private interest of the Party in charge. In fact with…

> One of the great things of the Licence fee was that the Government does not get to control the national TV like it does when the one who pays is it directly.

Don't know about that. Here in Germany public state broadcasters have a board elected by parties, churches, unions and other large bodies aiming, on paper, for proportional representation. The results are insufferable, mediocre palliative-care TV shows, corrupt sports (I hear they have that in UK, too ;), and news shows, with the occasional outstanding documentation (public radio stations are better IMO).

Until recently, I regarded their news as ok-ish, but the hysterical focus on CoVid and their tendency to polarize and putting every critique against the party line into the realm of Corona deniers or some such in the last two years has pulled the curtain for me, to show a self-referential political-medial complex bringing up topics irrelevant for large parts of the populace.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#105

Post by whywhywhywhy »

Happy about this. I decided to never pay it again after buying a TV on Amazon (for videogames only) and that action and my address being shared with the BBC so they could harass me to pay it. Insane breach of my rights and privacy from what is essentially a TV Channel.

Still get harassed by them once every two years or so where you have to tell them again that no you are not interested or they’ll “open an investigation”. Of course BBC like to pretend this isn’t them by having a fake organization “TV Licensing” to make it sound like some government arm.

BBC is a shadow of its former self, I’d have been happy to pay in the 90s and 00s but I haven’t seen them produce anything of quality in the last decade.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#106

Post by makomk »

Nextgrid wrote: post #90
johnday wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not feasible. In the UK we have Freeview [1], a free-to-access television platform which manages ~all terrestrial output. The BBC administrates this system along with the other major broadcasters (ITV, C4, ...). If the BBC did not put out its own output under Freeview, not only would Freeview collapse but the BBC would effectively be wiped off the face of British television. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Freeview just a marketing name for DVB-T (or T2 nowadays), which supported encrypted content since its inception and can mix encrypted & non-encrypted channels in the same multiplex?

Yes, and in fact Freeview started off as a primarily encrypted commercial service called ONdigital which was taken over by the BBC and turned into Freeview when it failed commercially.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#107

Post by Nextgrid »

jaymzcampbell wrote: post #103
Nextgrid wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The declaration only lasts for a year or so, not to mention that out of principle there is no reason for us to help them save money on not sending their letters/goons especially considering they started the whole thing to begin with. Let them reap what they sowed.

Hello you - sorry I missed your SMS before xmas :') - They've left me alone since 2018, I think I had one follow up declaration and then that was it. Agree regarding we shouldn't have to on principle but I just went along with it for the sake of drawing a line under it.

Completely missed the username - hope you are well!

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#108

Post by kunagi7 »

Hokusai wrote: post #95
iqanq wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Spain both public and private TV channels are at the service of the government. The government always finds an excuse to give money to private channels to make sure they say what they have to say. It's a disgrace.

> both public and private TV channels are at the service of the government I have a different take. Private channels support parties that align with their interests. But private channels will criticize there government non-stop if they do not like the current ruling party. So, it's way more complex that everybody works for the government, that seems to be true in China, thou.

It used to be like that, every television outlet had their own political views and openly criticized the opposing ones.

However, when the pandemic started the government spent over 15 million euros directly in private televisions [1], and gave over 100 million euros in institutional advertisements to radio outlets, newspapers and the aforementioned private televisions [2], supposedly to avoid their economic collapse. Also some regions did the same with regional or local outlets.

So, it's not like they're at their service... But why should the media in Spain criticize the hand that feeds them?

[0] Note, sources are in Spanish (and both sources got institutional advertisements!):

[1] https://www.lavanguardia.com/television/20200331/48219498329...

[2] https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/medios/20200407/moncloa-a...

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#109

Post by onphonenow »

HWR_14 wrote: post #81
mcintyre1994 wrote: post #35

I’m not sure how much cut through this has had outside of the UK, but the government are currently in serious trouble because of constant leaks about parties in Number 10 Downing Street during the pandemic - including a particularly poorly timed one the day before the Queen was photographed at her husband’s funeral alone. The leaks are ongoing, so we know that this particular plan is part of “Operation Red Meat”, whi…

Only to answer your question about the party scandals - it totally made its way across the Atlantic. The severity of the scandal has been stated but is not obvious (Boris May lose his prime ministership over this ?) However, it was drowned out by the ouster of Phillip.

What I don't get is why the conservatives were so draconian over covid. Your partner is dying, you can't see them. Folks couldn't walk around outside. Some guy driving to walk around outside was like national news.

I mean, if you go to this extreme, and then are throwing parties. (Rules for thee, not for me) it would make me furious as well. Let me go sit on the beach with sunshine and fresh air instead of having to cram into a grocery store or whatever.

In the US DeSantis or whatever right wing politico could easily go to a public event, not because its a good idea, but because they haven't banned others from going to activities.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#110

Post by odiroot »

chrisseaton wrote: post #20

The BBC's version of the article at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60014514 . > The BBC has declined to comment. Nothing more BBC than the BBC writing an article about the BBC saying that the BBC haven't commented.

This is great journalistic integrity. I applaud them for that.
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